Doug,
You're spreaders from Ballengers look fantastic. Just wondering if you might clear up a few things for me, and for anyone else who might wonder the same thing in the future. Primarily I'm interested in the sizing of your spreaders. I spoke with an employee at Ballengers today. He said that their small and medium-sized spreaders had the following OD dimensions: Small (2 1/4 inches wide x 5/8 inch high); Medium (3 1/4 inch wide x 7/8 inch high).
The E25 OEM spreaders have the following OD dimensions: 3 inches wide x 7/8 inch high. I believe that the E27 dimensions are the same, and that the only thing that differentiates the two set-ups are the lengths of the spreaders (which thus account for the differences in the beam of the two boats).
At any rate, having stated the OEM dimensions to the employee at Ballengers, I was told that, more than likely, the medium-sized spreaders would be appropriate replacements. The employee added, however, that I would need to speak with Buzz Ballenger to confirm. If I had to guess, I would say that the spreaders in your picture are the medium-sized ones.
This brings me to my question.
A number of E25 owners and E27 owners have replaced their OEM spreaders/brackets with those manufactured either by Dwyer or by Kenyon/Rig-Rite.
http://www.dwyermast.com/items.asp?...=57&familyName=Spreaders+&+Brackets+(Airfoil)
http://www.rigrite.com/Spars/Kenyon_Spars/KENYON.html#spreader sections
Both of these companies recommend replacement spreaders that are smaller than the OEM-sized spreaders . I spoke with Dwyer today. The person on the phone said that DH2503 spreader (1.875 inches x 3/4 inch high) was designed for boats in the 25-27 ft range, and that the next sized spreader, the DH2580 (3 inches x 1 inch) was for boats in the 28-30ft range. Clearly, the DH2580 is closer in size to the OEM spreader (3 inches x 7/8 inch).
I was not able to speak with a human customer sales person at Rig-Rite, but their online information and the information that is provided in the EY.o thread (located here:
http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoexchange/showthread.php?9788-E-27-broken-Spreader-Bracket) indicates that the Kenyon SP2.2 (1.88 inchs x 3/4 inch) is designed for boats in the 24-27 ft range, and the next size up, the SP3 (2.75 inches x 1 inch) is designed for boats in the 28 foot and above range. The website even listed the Ericson 28+ as boat suitable for the SP3. Note, however, that the SP3 is not even the same size as the OEM spreader (3 inches x 7/8 inches) for the Ericson 25 and 27.
It would seem that Dwyer and Kenyon/Rig-Rite would want to sell the larger-sized spreaders to E25 and E27 owners, not only because they are closer in size to the OEM spreaders, but also (and especially), because the larger spreaders are more expensive. Since they are not trying to sell these larger-sized spreaders, it seems that either they are mistaken or the OEM spreaders on the E25 and E27 are oversized.
I want to replace my E25 OEM spreaders/brackets with new ones that are the proper size. I'm comfortable using the smaller-sized ones recommended by Dwyer or Kenyon/Rig-Rite, since they are more affordable, but I first want to make sure that they are appropriate replacements.
What did you discover along these lines in your research prior to deciding to go with Ballenger?
Many thanks,
Roscoe
Ericson 25, #226
Charleston, SC